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Fig. 4: Frame and pane' Laminated rail Stile 34 chisel-tooth carbide rip blade and a simple jig (figure 5), made of a squared-up 4x4, a support for the curved rail and two handles_ I make the tenons and mortises of equal thickness, about one-fifth the thickness of the rails and stiles, and cut the tenons on the rails_ With a marking gauge, set-out the joint on two pieces of scrap the thickness of the rails and stiles, and use these to set the saw. The sequence of cuts for making the joints is shown in figure 5. I use the scrap to establish and check the rip fence position before each new cut, then cut all four ends before resetting the fence for the next cut. The first cut is made on the outer faces of the curved rails, the rip fence positioned so the blade just skims, but doesn't cut, the face of the jig. After completing cuts 1 and 2 on the first tenon, move the rip fence away from the blade by the thickness of a saw kerf, to make the first mortise cut on the straight stiles (cut 3). Be sure to check against the scribe marks on the scrap before cutting the stiles. Remember to work from the outside face of the stiles, as well as the outside face of the rails. Continue to alternate from tenons to mortises, as shown, until the joints are finished. Clear the waste and clean up the shoulders with a chisel if 78 12 &8 910 necessary, assembling the joints to check the fit. Clamp a simple wooden fence, cut to the panel curve, to a router to make the panel grooves. Remember to make the grooves deep enough to allow for panel movement. Plunge the bit into the rails and stiles in the area of the mortise or tenon so that any tear-out at the beginning or end of the stopped cut will be hidden. If you prefer to be able to remove the panel, you can rabbet the frame parts with a piloted bit; the panel is held in place by thin fillets screwed to the frame. Fillets can be glued-up on the rail-making mold as a single, wide X-in.-thick piece, then bandsawed to width. Finish-sanding the rails and stiles, and finishing the panel be- fore gluing up, helps minimize clean-up problems. I glue up the frame first in two L-shaped sections, let them cure, then complete the assembly. Make sure that the panel slides easily in the grooves before the final glue-up. A little candlewax in the grooves near the joints will keep squeezed-out glue from adhering the panel to the frame. When the framed panel is complete, you can make the box to fit its size and curves exactly. 0 Skip Sven Hanson, founder of tbe Albuquerque Woodworkers Association, builds custom furniture in Albuquerque, N. Mex. January/February 1986 39